Pirate Treasure Hallway Hunt

The classroom is a wonderful place for learning. Teachers can be so creative in the many lesson activities completed in a classroom, but don't you ever want to get out of the classroom for some learning? This was my thought in creating the Pirate Treasure Hallway Hunt. A pirate-themed classroom would not be complete without a treasure map to hunt for treasure. In this activity, students have to use their treasure map to hunt for question clues with the ultimate goal ending at a treasure chest. (Note: Please click on the pictures to view in complete detail!)

Hallways are fun and not as quiet as you might think with all the group learning or volunteer projects occurring. Students will love getting out of the classroom for a different kind of learning experience. Of course, expectations must be set on behavior during the hallway hunt. Part of the management of the activity focuses on how to successfully implement the treasure hunt without a visit from your principal or other co-workers wondering why your class is interfering with everyone else's learning. ☺

So, how does this work? There are 42 review questions covering a variety of subjects in the early months of 3rd grade curriculum. You can see the break down of topics and subjects covered by clicking on the first picture directly above. There is also a blank question clue so you can sub out some questions to make the game more friendly to your classroom review.

The question clues are assembled with a numbered treasure chest on the front and the corresponding question clue on the back. Even numbered questions are presented on signs held by pirates, and odd numbers are on scrolls. Hang these questions clues around the halls of your school. I highly recommend laminating the clues. They last longer and are easy to store and pull out for next year. I provide a map of my school to my students to show where each cluster of questions are "hidden" so that they know how many to look for in a hallway. My school is split into four sections. The class sat in a hub area in the middle working on a pirate word search while I staggered sending out pairs to each section of the hall. I could maintain sight lines easily. Depending on your school set up, you might want to have some parent volunteers watch each hall.

Each numbered treasure chest has a letter on the front which helps decode a secret message too!

Students have a student folder with the secret message on top, the treasure map right inside, and the student answer sheet to complete problems. One year I tried giving out stickers after each cluster of problems was finished, but that was way too time consuming. I recommend students just color in the circles of the questions as completed to keep track of what has been answered. This also makes it easier to continue if completing the treasure hunt over a few days.

Once completed, I have the students show me their work so that I know answers are fully completed and not rushed before handing out the final clue. The final clue sends the students to find their hard earned and highly sought after treasure. I have my treasure chest full of pirate-themed items such as gold chocolate coins, pirate tattoos, pirate pencils, and class economy bucks hidden at the front office. Students have to say a special pirate phrase to the receptionist to get access to the treasure chest. A blank final clue is also included to personalize the final clue to your needs. All in all, it's a fun way to get out of the classroom and review with high levels of student motivation.

It's fun to get out in the hallway, but what if the hallway isn't an option? Try the gym if there are open times, or hang the questions in smaller chunks around the classroom during centers for a few days. 42 questions can be a lot for the classroom though, so if you are looking for a smaller version of this treasure hunt, you can check out Pirate Arrays Treasure Hunt at my TeachersPayTeachers store. The 19 questions are limited to arrays and can be easily completed in the classroom environment.